LOUISVILLE, KY - Speedway LLC has pledged to raise $1 million over the next three years to be donated to the Children’s Hospital Foundation for the purchase of two new “Just for Kids” Transport vehicles for the Pediatric Transport Team at Kosair Children’s Hospital, and to support the development of the new dedicated pediatric emergency department at the future Kosair Children’s Hospital – St. Matthews.

The $1 million fundraising effort comes from Speedway’s partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the generous donations of its customers who place money in jars located in Speedway stores throughout the Louisville area. The additional $1 million over the next three years follows a $500,000 Speedway donation in 2011 to the Children’s Hospital Foundation to purchase a new transport ambulance.

Half of the $1 million pledge will be used to completely refurbish and remount two pediatric transport ambulances, including engines, tires, cabs, chassis, etc. – everything except the outer “box,” essentially creating new ambulances that are more functional and comfortable for patients and families. These transport vehicles, along with fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, provide transportation for neonates and other young patients throughout the region in need of sophisticated, sometimes life-sustaining, emergency care at Kosair Children’s Hospital. In 2012 the transport team will transport approximately 2,000 children who are among the most fragile, critically ill patients who come to Kosair Children’s Hospital for specialized care. More than 60 percent of the babies in Kosair Children’s Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit are brought there by the transport team.  

The other $500,000 will be used to help develop a new dedicated pediatric emergency department – scheduled to open in January 2014 – at the future Kosair Children’s Hospital – St. Matthews. Norton Healthcare is currently in the process of converting Norton Suburban Hospital into the region’s only dedicated women’s and children’s hospital.   

The “Just for Kids” Transport Team is composed of 27 people incorporating nine teams of three who rotate shifts and are on call 24/7. Each team has one respiratory therapist, one registered nurse and one emergency medical technician. Their advanced qualifications and training, combined with each unit’s state-of-the-art, life-sustaining medical equipment, create what is essentially a pediatric intensive care unit on wheels.

Speedway is a convenience store chain operating stores in seven Midwestern states, including Kentucky.